At the film's start, Tony Stark (Portrayed by the always magnetic and brilliant Robert Downey Jr.) is deeply unsettled, his slumber interrupted constantly by dreams of the alien attack on NYC that took place in The Avengers. He copes with his unstable psyche by building countless Iron Man suits, including a pretty spiffy new one that bombards him piece by piece until he's completely armored up - Though it doesn't always work as well as intended. His girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow) doesn't take too kindly to these distractions or his refusal to address his psychological issues. Naturally, their relationship is starting to show signs of strain. Mr. Stark's life becomes more complicated when a mysterious terrorist known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley, awesome and bizarre in ways you won't quite see coming) begins setting off bombs in various locations, spreading chaos wherever he can. After one of his companions is seriously injured by one of the Mandarin's attacks, Stark takes it upon himself to take down The Mandarin personally. He also clashes with Aldrich Killian, a scientist who has quite the vendetta against Stark as a result of an encounter they'd had nearly a decade prior in which Stark completely blew him off. When The Mandarin retaliates against Stark by attacking his home, Stark embarks on a quest to find him and defeat him once and for all!
It seems pretty straightforward, right? I assure you it's not. Iron Man 3 wriggles its way out of every possible comic book movie convention and any other expectations you might have, sometimes to the point of utter ridiculousness and regularly at the expense of legitimate drama. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but there were numerous moments that caught me completely off guard. Some walk the very, very narrow line between funny and just pure camp. Despite this, the movie never falls apart completely, even when it comes dangerously close to doing so. In fact, I think it's best if one enters the movie with the expectation that it'll be a comedy with great action sequences. Does that sound a bit odd? Well, it shouldn't if you've seen Shane Black's other work in Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
And might I also add that I am thrilled to see that Black is back in action in such a big way. His screenplay for Iron Man 3 (coined with Drew Pearce) is full of zippy dialogue and frequent laugh-out-loud punchlines.
This is easily the funniest of the three Iron Man films and the movie's pace is brisk and upbeat, but the focus on zaniness comes at the expense of emotional depth or character development. Black's direction during the action sequences can also be a bit chaotic to the point where it's difficult to discern what's actually happening. It doesn't quite reach Quantum of Solace levels of awful action direction, but it comes a bit too close for comfort at times. Still, he gets it right more often than not. Especially during a daring airborne rescue in which Iron Man, only capable of carrying four passengers at one time, must rescue eleven or so after they've been sucked out of an airplane. It's edge of your seat excitement and easily the film's most thrilling moment. There's also a great subplot involving a young lad helping Stark repair his armor. It works because it never resorts to cloying, manipulative lameness that most scenes involving young kids seem to demand. In fact, some of the best moments come from Stark's interactions with this kid.
There are, however, plenty of subplots and supporting characters that don't work nearly as well. Guy Pearce gives it his all as Tony Stark's foe Aldrich Killian, but despite his Bond villian-esque charm, there's only so much he can do with such a two-dimensional character. Another pointless subplot involving a woman Tony had a one night fling with (Rebecca Hall in a rather forgettable supporting role) is superflous, muddled and, in one particular scene, threatens to bring the film's breakneck pace crashing down. Poor James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is also shoved to the side for most of the proceedings until the epic finale. But, Cheadle is awesome when he gets his moments to shine.
Despite its flaws and mostly tongue-in-cheek nature, Iron Man 3 succeeds far more than it doesn't mainly due to the talents of Robert Downey Jr. and Shane Black's unique take on the superhero mythos. It never quite reaches the high bar set by the first Iron Man and doesn't come remotely close to touching The Avengers, but it's harmless summer action movie fun and gives me renewed hope for the future of the Marvel universe.
FINAL RATING: 3.5/5
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